Life - Snowballs in Paradise
Summer is almost officially over, but it was over 80 today in beautiful Santa Cruz. I think it's just the continuation of a strange weather pattern this year, but it's a little odd. The Amaryllis are still blooming weeks after they're usually gone, and there still seems to be a pretty good number of tourists 3 weekends after Labor Day. The only real sign I've seen of fall is that the surf seems to have gotten heavier in the past 2 weeks, although it was a little milder today. Both dogs have gotten knocked over by big waves the last two weekends, which is a little scary; Greyhounds aren't exactly built for battling the waves.

Life has a mildly hallucinogenic quality here under any circumstances, but the heat seems to make everything even slower and dreamier. I'm driving down Soquel Avenue yesterday, just past the Harley Davidson dealership/museum on the corner of Seabright, with a guy on a Harley in front of me. I look across the street and see a 9 or 10 year-old kid taking aim at the motorcyclist. With a snowball. He throws it well behind the Harley - the rider doesn't even notice - and runs away. There's a flea market going on the next corner down and people are walking down the street on my side, but nobody else seems to see this but me.

Now, where do you get a snowball on a hot day in Santa Cruz? Come to think of it, where do you get a snowball on any day in Santa Cruz?